In Eugene Oregon,USA
The government, through the Ministry of Sports, is committed to nurturing talent through the Kenya Academy of Sports, aiming to send a strong team to the 2028 LA Olympic Games.
Speaking in Eugene, Oregon, USA, Sports PS Elijah Mwangi praised President William Ruto’s significant strides in sports infrastructure, which are vital for talent development.
“I commend Athletics Kenya for their efforts. We have been supporting them in establishing holiday camps across the country. The medals we won—the gold, silver, and bronze in the 5,000 meters—are the result of continuous progress in athletics,” stated the PS.
The PS assured the government’s support for the Athletics Kenya holiday camps in preparation for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, USA.
“My urge to our young athletes is to maintain discipline because that’s what is required for us to take this team to the Olympics in 2028. This government of William Ruto is committed to developing the right infrastructure for sportsmen and sportswomen, identifying and taking these kids to the camps. Equally, they also learn different programs throughout the year. We have the national championships and the school games, from where we are able to identify these talents,” he added.
Regarding the new enhanced government reward scheme for young medalists in international assignments, PS Mwangi reaffirmed that all gold medalists from Oregon will earn Ksh 2 million, Ksh 1.5 million for silver, and Ksh 1 million for bronze medalists in recognition of their efforts.
“I appreciate the good effort and the support we have received from all the stakeholders, especially His Excellency the President, because he has already directed that the team members who qualify, of course, at the individual level, will take home two million. That is for a gold winner; a silver, 1.5,million hereas for a bronze, 1 million Kenya shillings,” he continued.
As part of good preparation for the 2028 Olympics, the PS directed AK to ensure the best athletes out of the ongoing under-20 world championships in Eugene, Oregon form a larger part of the team.
“And equally, the team that we shall get from this particular event, I hope together with Athletics Kenya, we shall continue nurturing them, having them in the right environment in our sports academies so that continuously they can compete both at the junior level and at the senior level, and that they continue bridging the gap so that when the older athletes get out of the competitions, we have young athletes who are able to come and continue with the good progress.”
PS Mwangi was speaking on Thursday when he attended the World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field.
The PS had earlier visited the team’s training to motivate them ahead of the remaining events.
Kenya is represented by 23 athletes, 12 boys and 11 girls, as it seeks to improve on its 2024 performance in Lima, Peru, where it bagged 3 gold, 3 silver, and a bronze.
The PS was accompanied by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) 1st Deputy President Barnaba Korir.
